The Conculture/Conpeople Opinions Thread

[Ànradh]

O_O I just meant the one people commonly espouse where they forget about the quantum particle and think the thought-experiment was focused on the cat. i.e.

- Conscious awareness of something causing it to exist.

I think I'm going to start being really pedantic with my questions in future, because that's the third time I've been required to clarify. :p

[Pirka]

Just how far down the rabbit hole of crazy are we supposed to make a reaction to here?

As far down as we can go! To hell with reason!

[eldin raigmore]

Just how far down the rabbit hole of crazy are we supposed to make a reaction to here?

As far down as we can go! To hell with reason!

I'm sure Pirka meant "Exactly as far and as crazy as your conculture/conpeople are supposed to be likely to be".

Right, Pirka?

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How would your conpeople react to the idea of Schrödinger's cat (the proper quantum context or the derived philosophy if you wish)?

Adpihi would likely concentrate on the cruelty to the cat.

Reptigan's Artificial Intelligences, as well as their interstellar faster-than-light communications systems, and other technologies, depend on quantum effects. The AIs depend in particular on superpositions of states, so they know about "constructive dilemma" and how it's twice as fast to compute an answer with a qbit in a superposed on-and-off state as to compute it once with it on and once with it off.

Arpiens probably think it's a ridiculous way to introduce an undead cat into your horror-movie.

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Next:

So what do your conpeople think about horror-movies involving undead characters?

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edit: should have been "Arpien", not "Arpian". so I changed it.

[Avjunza]

Next:
So what do your conpeople think about horror-movies involving undead characters?

Ankuati: No no no, that's all wrong! The undead are the heroes, they escaped the Netherworld and returned to life! And they don't stumble around with their flesh rotting, they go back to how they were a week before they died! And undeadness can't be passed on, what's this bullshit about infection?!
And I must have eaten some bad mushrooms, because those pictures on the box are moving and making noise!

Next: What do they make of jynxes?

[eldin raigmore]

Ankuati: No no no, that's all wrong! The undead are the heroes, they escaped the Netherworld and returned to life! And they don't stumble around with their flesh rotting, they go back to how they were a week before they died! And undeadness can't be passed on, what's this bullshit about infection?!
And I must have eaten some bad mushrooms, because those pictures on the box are moving and making noise!

That's really very good, IMO!

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Which?
Jynx?
Jynx?

[cybrxkhan]

Next: What do they make of jynxes?

Which?
Jynx?
Jynx?

Or was that a mispelling of jinx?

I'll do all three.

Keintapan:
1. Jynx, the Pokemon: "Oh damn... that woman must have been terribly tortured by the government if she looks like that ugly."
2. Jynx, the bird: "Did the government install secret spy cameras on those things? That's all I care about."
3. Jinx, a curse: "As long as it doesn't get me in jail, I really don't care."


Next: Is getting really drunk - as in like totally wasted - considered really good or really bad or something else?

[Valoski]

How could you miss the jynx when 2 people speak the same word(s) at exactly the same time? :P

Next: Is getting really drunk - as in like totally wasted - considered really good or really bad or something else

"Why the hell would anybody do that to themselves?! That's beyond foolish!"
Aryans would think they've lost the will to live or something.

What would your Conculture think of Dragon Ball Z?
Lol.

[cybrxkhan]

What would your Conculture think of Dragon Ball Z?
Lol.

Aidisese: "They told me this was based off one of the greatest pieces of literature from China. I was expecting something brilliant here, and instead I get some Keintapan monstrosities screaming at each other?"

Next:
Would insanity be a viable legal defense in your conculture? And what would your conpeople think of its usage here in the states?

[eldin raigmore]

How could you miss the jynx when 2 people speak the same word(s) at exactly the same time? :P

That kind of "jinx" is the curse kind of "jinx". It's considered bad luck to speak exactly the same words at exactly the same time; "jinx on you" means "the jinx (for saying the same thing at the same time) is on you" or "I avoid the jinx by putting it on you".

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Next:
Would insanity be a viable legal defense in your conculture?

Adpihi: No. God commands you not to sin against your neighbor; if God makes you mentally ill that doesn't mean He's released you from any of His commands. If you're having trouble doing right, or if you're having trouble figuring out what's wrong and what's right, well, you have a personal relationship with God, don't you? Ask Him for help!

Reptigan: Almost certainly not. You are almost entirely responsible for keeping your own hardware in good repair and keeping your own software updated, upgraded, and well-maintained. Unless you can prove the particular bug you suffered from made you unable to not commit the crime, and can prove that it was someone else's malfeasance or negligence that you were still suffering from the bug at that time, you're still responsible.

Arpien: Probably not. That would be like saying it was OK for a blind person to cross a street against the light because he couldn't see it. Society builds wheelchair-accessible facilities, Brailles keypads and elevators, makes sure announcements are both verbal (for blind people) and visual (for deaf people), and so on; and we're working on fixing it so people with mental handicaps can also function pretty normally. "Mental handicaps" includes mental illnesses. Granted, if someone has multiple handicaps, we still don't know how to make life easy for them; but how likely is it that you can prove you committed a crime only because you were both insane and deaf, or both insane and retarded, or whatever?

And what would your conpeople think of its usage here in the states?

All three: Most mentally-ill people do not commit crimes; most are on the average about as law-abiding as mentally-well people. The notion that a mentally-ill person can victimize you and get away with it is probably a big motivator behind the bigotry and stigma that your average citizens perpetrate towards the sufferers of these problems. Maybe if your ACLU managed to successfully campaign against these "defenses", your ordinary citizens would start thinking of "mental diseases" as disorders for which society should seek cures or treatments, rather than as dodges to get away with crimes.

Note, though, that the three societies do have different attitudes toward mental illness:
Adpihi think it's between the patient and God, and would ask God to help the patient, and to help them help the patient.
Reptigan think it's a software or hardware bug, and should be corrected; there are people whose duty it is to do that.
Arpien think it's a wound or a scar or a trauma; they definitely have a "medical model". They might be motivated to do some detective work to find out what the trauma was, and whether anyone was responsible for it, and, if so, who. If they decided someone was responsible, they might make them liable for the patient's treatment.

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Next:
What would your conpeople and concultures think of authors, directors, actors, etc. who can't keep from having one of their characters preach the author's/etc.'s own views?

[Micamo]

What would your conpeople and concultures think of authors, directors, actors, etc. who can't keep from having one of their characters preach the author's/etc.'s own views?

Midhe: It depends on the genre they write for. In historical fantasy* it's expected for characters to be surrogates for modern sociopolitical viewpoints and for the stories to touch on modern situations, but anywhere else it's laughed at.

*That is, real people in a real place with some background events going on that really happened, but the plot that makes up the focus of the story is the author's invention. For example, a story of George Washington having a secret gay love affair with Thomas Jefferson during the revolutionary war.

What do they think of historical fantasy anyway?

[Pirka]

What do they think of historical fantasy anyway?

Historical fantasy or Sowakuru (lit. mind-history) is one of the "Three Warring Genres" of Kaynur oral and written literature, the other two being accurate history or Cukikuru (lit. see-history) and denial of history or Suparkuru (lit. blasphemy-history). They are "warring" because each is a different approach to history that declares itself superior over all else. The Sowakuru school of thought teaches that ordinary history should be "sprinkled with blood" (spiced up) so that it's not simply a retelling of facts most everyone already has (at least) an inkling about. Sowakuru in itself is divided into two parts: one part explicitly marks the imagined portions of the text with a red ink underline (or does it verbally, or with a special punctuation mark) while the other part doesn't bother.

How open are you conpeople on the subject of sex and sexuality?

[Valoski]

How open are you conpeople on the subject of sex and sexuality?

It is not usually discussed in a formal or even informal setting, but when you're looking for it, you're very open about it. When an Aryans wants "it", they dress to show themselves off (yes, even the men) and wear red or orange colours, and go to a Prattus (Kind of like a social club).


What would your people think of how so many video games today allow people to so casually immerse themselves in war?

[Micamo]

What would your people think of how so many video games today allow people to so casually immerse themselves in war?

Midhe: There's nothing wrong with war stories and war games: They're not real. What's evil about war is the massive destruction and slaughter it brings. Nobody actually gets hurt in these games, so there's nothing wrong with them. The real danger of such depictions, a danger not exclusive to games, is to misinform people by showing war as something that it isn't: That of invincible heroes saving the day from a great evil. Responsible depictions of warfare should work to dispel this myth.

Non-Midhe draconic: It's wonderful! These games display what our tribe's foremothers fought for and what we are still fighting for today. They give youth a sense of direction and respect for their tribe.

[cybrxkhan]

What would your people think of how so many video games today allow people to so casually immerse themselves in war?

An educated Aidisese would not be against them, arguing that well-crafted war games might even be useful for military simulations or to discuss important philosophical/whatever issues around war (like a story could). On the other hand, it might give people wrong impressions about the negative consequences of war, so it is important for people to realize what they are doing probably isn't pretty in real life, and so forth.



Since Micamo didn't post the next question, I'll just post it, if you don't mind.


What would your conpeople think of genetic engineering?

[Cseúhro]

What would your conpeople think of genetic engineering?

The South-Selurian emperors would probably welcome the idea of genetic engineering with arms open wide because they are a bit on the racist side down there and would like to keep their noble houses pure (but so would most aristocrats I reckon). But the motifs of most South-Selurian people wouldn't even be that much racism-inspired but of more practical nature: Their culture is based on looks and business success so they would want their children to be pretty in order for them to get a decent job and being able to support their parents when older. Also because their culture is so appearance-oriented, they would want to modify themselves to get dat raven hair, dat fair skin and dem amber eyes.

The inhabitants of the Southern Citadel would just be like "cool story bro would u like a little tour thru our labs cuz rn we're breedin mechanical worms with shutter eyes".

The Felan Peoples are quite very religious, conservative and sceptical towards new stuff in general so they would... uhm... burn everyone who voices the possible advantages of altering someone because as we all know our personality and appearance – and everything around us – is of god-given perfectness and part of a higher plan. (Parallels to actual religious practices are purely coincidental, of course.)

Peoples from the Breach region, especially pedlars would listen veeeery carefully because maybe they could enhance their goods (vegetables, fruits, ...) to make more profit. They are quite pragmatic and don't really care about ethical discussions. As long as no-one gets hurt, it's fine with them.


What would your conpeople think of Paris Hilton? ಠ_ಠ

[Micamo]

Midhe: This is what humans call beautiful? All the more reason to enslave them.

Naming animals after humans: Compliment, or Insult?

[Chagen]

Naming animals after humans: Compliment, or Insult?

Cryset/Föro: That's just wrong! You use the special animal names for animals, and the special human names for humans. If you really want to name an animal in honor of their owner or something like that, then use the animal version of their name! Naming animals with human names....how ridiculous.

Paz: The divine ones tell that beasts are seperate from humans. It's heresy to mingle one with the other!

Adari: You're can keep fish and sea life? You mean you're not supposed to just eat them?

Irdgard: Tech-Beings aren't pets, you enslaving motherfuc---oh. Biological animals. Screw 'em anyway.

Sunago: We don't care, just pay your taxes on time.

Kron: We don't keep animals. No animals EXIST in Kron....

Primodialis: .......?

Next: Are there any linguists in your conworld? Does your culture have any appreciation of linguistic (or any science in general, perhaps)?

[Trailsend]

Next: Are there any linguists in your conworld? Does your culture have any appreciation of linguistic (or any science in general, perhaps)?

Not among the feayr.

There is a very old tradition of linguistics among the elves, but it is primarily restricted to their own languages within Aetherae; they haven't done a lot of study of non-elf languages for reasons besides the practical.

Within the Talambrian empire, linguistics is studied, but it doesn't carry much prestige. As in Aetherae, it is mostly concerned with the different languages and dialects spoken within the empire, and why High Talambrian is the best language evarrr.

The most in-depth study of intercontinental comparative linguistics comes out of Atherom, due mostly to its tradition of sea trade and the influence of the Church of the Nine.


What, if any, mechanisms or techniques for navigation has your conculture developed?

[rickardspaghetti]

What, if any, mechanisms or techniques for navigation has your conculture developed?

The Silver People are great seafarers and build excellent ships. They have also just recently invented the hot air balloon and might start building big airships.

The River People have small boats. Yeah...


Next: Someone is found guilty of a horrible crime and in their defense they say God made them do it. Would this defense work in your conworld?

[Thakowsaizmu]

How open are you conpeople on the subject of sex and sexuality?
The Orcs have very few sexual taboos, and those that they have should be followed. However, that being said, Orcs are extremely open sexually.

Are there any linguists in your conworld? Does your culture have any appreciation of linguistic (or any science in general, perhaps)?
There are. Orcs have even adapted their alphabet to facilitate sounds not native to Orcish, and have begun to really start understanding the difference in masculine and feminine speech. That said, there are some things that Orcs do not consider a 'language' per se, even though modern linguists of our own probably would. Such as Goblin, a pidgin that stems from Orcish. As far as the Orcs are concerned, it is just goblins who don't understand how to properly speak.


Someone is found guilty of a horrible crime and in their defense they say God made them do it. Would this defense work in your conworld?
It would if, and only if, the Priestess caste could or would corroborate the story. Otherwise the Orc in question would also be guilty of using that defense unjustly.

Next: How do your conpeople see vegetarianism? Veganism?